Nighttime, in a temporary base of a guerrilla unit.
"Originally, I thought that if you could just draw them away, that would already be a victory. Didn't expect you'd actually manage to take down the Tiger."
"For the dawn of the desert!"
The exhausted Sahib stood in the center tent of the base, holding up his beer.
"To us… to a victorious future."
Seeing that the atmosphere was already just right, Murrue joined in, half-heartedly but still offering a congratulatory toast.
At that moment, everyone gathered around the table turned to look in one direction.
In their line of sight, Roz was bowing his head, staring at the beer in his metal cup with a complicated expression.
"What are you thinking, Roz? It's your turn."
Seeing Roz's odd reaction, Mu quickly came over and patted him on the shoulder.
Reminded by Mu, Roz finally came back to his senses, looking a bit dazed at the scene before him.
"It's your turn, Roz. Say a few words."
Clearly, Mu had noticed Roz spacing out, so he pointed toward Sahib and Murrue, who were already raising their glasses.
"Your turn."
"…Hmm."
Roz thought for a long time, then finally raised his glass.
"…For our compatriots."
"Good! For our compatriots!"
Although Sahib could tell Roz seemed distracted and that the mood had dropped a bit when it got to him, he was still very satisfied with Roz's words — after all, Sahib had joined the guerrillas for the sake of his family and his people.
After one round of beer, everyone began to chat freely.
"Even though the Desert Tiger's dead, ZAFT hasn't disappeared. Things are still going to be rough for you."
Mu put down his empty glass.
"Just because ZAFT has pulled back doesn't mean they're gone."
"But no matter what, the time they take to regroup gives us the perfect chance to expand our tunnels."
Sahib set down his glass and wiped his mouth.
"It won't get any worse than this. Once the tunnels are built, we'll have a lot more room to maneuver."
"Even if ZAFT comes back in full force, we'll keep fighting for our people."
Sahib picked up the rifle beside him, as if declaring his resolve.
"No matter how long they fight, we'll stand against them — until every last one of them is driven out."
Roz listened quietly to their chatter, saying nothing as he poured himself another drink.
"Ah, seems this beer's stronger than I thought. I'll step outside for some air, clear my head."
As Mu turned his gaze toward him, Roz scratched his head, gave everyone a faint smile, and walked out with his cup.
"What's with him…?"
Sahib looked puzzled. According to the guerrilla members who'd survived, Roz had piloted an MS to kill the Desert Tiger and even held off two enemy units — by all rights, this victory celebration should've been centered on him.
"He's probably just tired. Once a battle's over, he tends to overthink things when things go quiet."
Mu chuckled lightly, downplaying the issue. "Let him feel the desert wind and clear his head — it'll do him good."
"I see… well, that makes sense. He's not exactly a hardened soldier like us. It's normal for him to get lost in thought."
Sahib nodded, accepting the explanation.
"Wait a bit — our elder will soon hold a farewell ceremony for the fallen warriors. You should come see it too."
-----------------------------------
The desert night made the stars visible—probably because of the dryness.
Roz held his cup of beer on a small rise. Not far off, people gathered to watch the town elder conduct the farewell ceremony.
"…Andrew Waltfeld, and Ms. Aisha."
Roz fell silent for a moment, then lifted his cup toward the sky.
"I don't know if you survived, but given that explosion at that distance… I'll assume you're dead."
"You were the first Newtypes I met besides myself."
Roz took a deep breath to steady himself.
When he'd fought Andrew and Aisha, their emotions had surged into his head—especially at the moment LaGOWE exploded—and the intensity had been hard to bear.
"I don't know whether your souls can hear me, but I have to say this."
He paused; his tone turned earnest.
"I'll change this world for you."
"Watch—above this sky choked by the smoke of war, I will seize back the future that belongs to humanity with my own hands."
"Curse me, damn me if you will—I'll be waiting for you in my dreams."
After saying that, Roz swung his arm and beer splashed through the air before falling to the ground.
His eyes, fixed on the starry sky, grew calm. It was as if he'd let something go, or as if he'd made a decision.
He set his cup down, turned, and walked toward the Archangel.
"Boom… boom… boom…"
The celebratory salvos from the farewell ceremony drifted to Roz's ears.
-----------------------------------
When Roz returned to the Archangel's hangar, Jesta was fully opened up and prepared for maintenance.
"You okay, Roz?" Christina stood before Jesta, waiting for him.
Christina had only stayed a short while at the victory party before returning to the hangar—she didn't need to eat; her special nutrient solution kept her brain functioning.
After Roz confirmed that Andrew and Aisha were two newly awakened Newtypes, Christina understood Roz's situation. She couldn't do much about it, so she came to the hangar and began adjusting the machine to soothe her own mind.
"Mm… I'm fine now."
Roz walked over and patted Christina on the shoulder.
"The rest… I'll deal with it when they come find me in my dreams."
"…Understood."
Christina exhaled with relief seeing Roz recover.
"How's Jesta doing now?"
Without more small talk, Roz turned to look at Jesta.
"I just finished gathering NTD program data. The frame wear is very high."
Christina sighed.
"Earth's gravity isn't like space. Be careful in upcoming fights."
"And according to the route the guerrillas gave us, we'll be entering the Indian Ocean tomorrow, right?"
Christina handed the tablet to Roz.
"Jesta isn't meant for underwater. It can't go into the water."
"Then it can act as a fire platform aboard the Archangel, or fight using the high-mobility backpack in the air."
Roz considered this and proposed a plan.
"We can also make an adapter and temporarily use the Strike's artillery equipment."
"…Let's get to work."
-----------------------------------
The next morning, Roz crawled out of Jesta's cockpit, black circles under his eyes.
In the hangar, many people were already moving various crates around.
The maintenance from last night had lasted a long time. After such intense battles, Jesta had issues not just with its frame but in multiple areas. Roz had spent a long time with Christina to restore Jesta's condition.
Soon they would enter the Indian Ocean. Anticipating aquatic threats unique to the Gundam world and following the "If I can't catch the fish, I'll blow up the pond" philosophy, Roz replaced his favorite fragmentation rocket rounds with his second-favorite cluster missiles.
Looking at Jesta with its various ammo colors changed, Roz nodded in satisfaction.
Outside, Archangel's crew and the guerrilla fighters were walking around the camp.
Nearby, in a tent, Cagalli stood before Murrue, speaking with expressive gestures.
"Good morning. What's happening?"
Roz tapped his face to wake himself up and approached Murrue.
"Good morning, Roz."
Murrue greeted him and, after observing Roz's recovered state, exhaled in relief.
"Cagalli wants to board our ship, but not to go to Alaska."
"Probably heading back to Orb?"
Roz thought for a moment and guessed, "Since Kira met her on Heliopolis, it makes sense that Cagalli is from Orb. Also, our route does pass near Orb, right?"
"That's correct. But you know our situation, Roz."
Murrue seemed hesitant and did not immediately agree to Cagalli, "ZAFT is pursuing us. Until we reach the Alaska base, we're not safe."
"Letting me aboard isn't entirely bad. Trust me, you'll need me."
Cagalli waved confidently.
"Huh? Need you?"
Just-woken Mu looked confused and asked.
"For supplies, Roz is a space scrap dealer with connections. Besides, we'll reach Alaska soon—resupply isn't urgent, right?"
"Overthinking it, Mu."
Roz walked over to Mu sitting on a stack of crates and patted his shoulder, "Most of my contacts are in space. There's little I can do on Earth, so don't always rely on me."
Then, in a voice Cagalli couldn't hear, Roz said to Mu: "Give the kid some face—she's about to blush."
Mu turned to see Cagalli, slightly embarrassed and clearly trying to find an excuse to board, seeming to clear up a bit.
"…Fine. Archangel's captain is Murrue. You need her approval."
"Uh… anyway, I have urgent and important matters in Orb. I must return as quickly as possible. That's it!"
Cagalli clenched her fists.
As Cagalli and Sahib walked away to go over plans for future, Mu turned to the young man always following Cagalli, who resembled Rambo.
"Hey, what's that kid's deal?"
The young man didn't answer, only quietly organized the items in the crate.
"Probably someone from the Morgenroete, Inc.? Based on Kira's description, the place she appeared was close to where you parked the G Project."
Roz put his hands in his flight jacket pockets, looking lazy.
"But who knows? Identities are self-given when traveling. Even if she claims to be the Orb leader's daughter, without verification, we can only take it half-seriously."
For some reason, after saying that, Roz felt a strong hostility behind him, very close. But it vanished quickly.
Roz naturally turned to Murrue but intentionally kept observing the young man resembling Rambo.
The youth simply closed the crate and carried it away.
"Why can't it be a wife?"
Mu, unaware of the danger just passed, laughed at Roz's comment and asked.
"…Nonsense. The Orb leader isn't that young. At Cagalli's age, she couldn't be his wife."
Roz squinted, countering Mu's thought.
"In this case, claiming she's the Orb leader's daughter is more credible than saying she's a wife."
"Eh! Then I'll bet fifty cents she's the daughter."
Mu suddenly raised a finger and stood with a "I have a plan" expression.
"Shouldn't you have chosen the wife option? The daughter option was mine!"
Roz felt his fist stiffen in his pocket.
"That's called preemptive strike—I predicted your prediction."
Mu looked very pleased.
"Damn, I follow—fifty cents, I pick the wife option."
"…Either way, your guesses aren't realistic."
Natarle interjected, "But regardless, anyone who could access the G Project warehouse up close must be connected to the Morgenroete, Inc.."
Ignoring the noisy arguments from Roz and Mu—"Everyone knows this is unofficial history" "Come on, guess too"—Natarle looked at Murrue, who was thinking.
"Murrue, what's your take?"
Although Murrue wanted to say, "I'll just watch," clearly she needed to state her stance on whether Cagalli could board.
After a long moment, Murrue seemed to have decided. She took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Phew… my decision is…"
..........